Football joins the live, fast and data-free sports family at Telstra

Telstra and Football Federation Australia (FFA) have announced a five-year digital rights and sponsorship agreement, with Telstra securing the live mobile rights for football until 2023.

Telstra has sub-licensed the digital rights from Fox Sports, as part of the 2016 rights deal between the FFA and Foxtel.

Under the deal, Telstra will create and launch the new “My Football Live App” with live matches available via the Telstra Live Pass for existing Telstra mobile customers. This live, fast and data-free inclusion is yet another tangible and valuable benefit to being a Telstra mobile customer.

The My Football Live App which will be the home of news, information and video for Australian Football on mobile devices and live streaming of the Hyundai A-League and select Westfield W-League, FFA Cup and National Team games.

Telstra will also become the exclusive telecommunications partner of the FFA under the deal, and a Technology Partner of all FFA properties including the Hyundai A-League, Caltex Socceroos and Westfield Matildas.

Joe Pollard, Telstra’s Group Executive of Media and Chief Marketing Officer, said Telstra was now providing a year-round live mobile sports offering across premier male and female competitions. The My Football Live App will be included in all Telstra mobile plans, providing another added benefit of being a Telstra mobile customer.

“We are the home of live Australian sport on-the-go, and on our brilliant network we are committed to making games available live, fast and data-free to as many Telstra customers as possible,” said Ms Pollard.

“We offer live streaming of every game of the AFL, AFLW, NRL and Netball seasons, on the leading mobile network in the country - and football is now joining the family. Adding the My Football Live App gives our customers a summer offering to complement the existing AFL, AFLW, NRL and Netball Live apps that are created by Telstra,” she added.

David Gallop, FFA CEO, said more Australians than ever before would now have access to live football.

“Our media rights strategy was to deliver content to as many Australians as possible anywhere, anytime and this new partnership with Telstra delivers on that commitment, helping us offer many more people the chance to watch the Hyundai A-League, Westfield W-League, the FFA Cup and our national teams live,” said Mr Gallop.

“As we saw with Riley McGree’s scorpion kick, the Hyundai A-League can produce moments that generate millions of views globally.

“And with women’s football the fastest growing part of the game, fans will now have the new option of watching the Westfield Matildas and Westfield W-League on the move through Telstra.

“This is the first of a range of innovations FFA is working on for next season,” he added.

Telstra saw unprecedented demand by sports-mad fans live streaming their favourite sporting games in 2017, with the audience subscribing to Telstra’s sporting apps increasing throughout the year, to over 1.5 million.

“We are enhancing the sports experience and shaping the way Australians are consuming sport. Customers now expect always-on ease of access and deeper engagement with the game through their mobile devices, and we’re seeing strong continued growth of live streaming in 2018,” said Ms Pollard.

Telstra’s expert sports product team are currently working with the FFA to design and build the My Football Live App and will launch this with regularly updated Caltex Socceroos editorial content and player profiles, in time for the Socceroos journey to Russia in June.

Live streaming in the app will commence for key games in the FFA Cup and every game of the Hyundai A-League 2018/19 season.

The My Football Live App will include live streaming and full match replays of all Hyundai A-League games which will be made available as a live, fast and data-free inclusion for Telstra mobile customers. In addition to Hyundai A-League games, the app will offer customers and Live Pass holders select FFA Cup, Westfield W-League, Caltex Socceroos and Westfield Matildas games, including Caltex Socceroos home friendlies and early round Asian Cup and 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification games.

FFA’s Head of Commercial, Digital and Marketing, Luke Bould, said: “We are delighted that Telstra is continuing its long association with football in Australia, joining many other leading brands as supporters of the game across all levels from our national teams to community football.”

The App will be free to download, with live matches being unlocked via the Telstra Live Pass. This live, fast and data free inclusion will be available to all Telstra mobile customers. Non-Telstra customers can purchase a $99.99 annual Live Pass, $16.99 monthly Live Pass, $4.99 weekly Live Pass.